India To Bet $6 Billion On Carbon Storage Through Reforestation

Forest in Kerala, India. India is investing $6.2 billion in reforestation over the coming years (Credit: wallpaperstock.net)

The Indian government is pushing the envelope in it's recent $6.2 billion proposal to reforest 12% of the country. This comes as an aim to meet the emissions standards set forth by the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) plan to cut the country's emissions by up to 35% of 2005 levels by 2030.

The $6.2 billion Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) bill was passed by India's lower house Parliament with overwhelming support and is now sitting with the upper house for final approval. The bill will fund afforestation across the country to increase forest cover from the current levels of 21 percent to 33 percent in the years to come.

“Our forest cover will dramatically increase and it will result in achieving our target 33 percent of tree cover and most importantly 2.5 billion tonne of carbon sink as we have indicated in our INDCs." - India's Environmental Minister Prakash Javadekar from outside the Parliament.

The bill will be funded through accumulated unspent amounts available to the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA). The fund will use "fresh accrual of compensatory levies and interest on accumulated unspent balance" to fund the bill with approximately Rs. 6,000 crore per year (roughly $900 million).

India is one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, only behind China, United States, and the combined European Union. India hopes to offset its emissions by planting forests, a natural carbon sink that takes CO2 from the atmosphere and locks it into the tree. India set a target to create an additional 2.5 to 3 GtCO2e carbon sink through forestation by 2030.

As a rule of thumb, a tree can absorb 48 lbs of CO2 per year and lock away 1 ton of CO2 in the first 40 years of its life. Using this very rough estimate, India would have to plant 62.5 million trees and grow them to 40 years old to capture the target 2.6 billion tons of carbon. An ambitious goal, but not impossible with the aforementioned funding dedicated to this one purpose. The key is oversight to ensure compliance and monitor progress in a country that has dealt with its fair share of corruption.

Sequestering carbon is a key factor in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration typically is employed by either injecting liquid CO2 into porous reservoirs deep in the Earth or bulk reforestation. Both methods are actively funded and help countries meet their emission targets.

Schematic of the various methods of carbon sequestration. (Credit: USGS)

We can expect more such initiatives after the recent signing of the Paris Agreement, which puts in place an action plan to limit Earth's warming to below 2°C.

I am a geologist passionate about sharing Earth's intricacies with you. I received my PhD from Duke University where I studied the geology and climate of the Amazon. I am the founder of Science Trends, a leading source of science news and analysis on everything from climate ...